Part 6 - Albany's Policies and Programs for Housing Production

State law requires urban cities like Albany to design, then implement, policies and programs that encourage production of Housing.  One perspective on this State mandate is that cities can choose to be strategic about which areas for more housing reflect community preferences.  Limited land in Albany means multi-story, multiple-unit structures are almost inevitable for new housing.  Multi-story, multiple-unit structures are consistent with commercial streets.  Albany’s Climate Action Plan also supports development along transit corridors.  Consequently, most new housing in Albany is likely to occur on San Pablo Ave and Solano Ave. 

Albany’s Housing Element – a document that must be approved by the State’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) department - has 11 policies and 12 “programs” to encourage production of housing.  This blog will describe several of the Housing Element “programs,” which define actions to implement policies.  Some programs are already underway, including creation of an Affordable Housing Fund, and a requirement that new housing on San Pablo Ave be sized at a minimum of 20 housing units per acre.  During 2014 Albany is holding numerous public meetings and conducting outreach to get citizens’ feedback. 

There are currently two Housing Elements, one for 2007 – 2014, the other for 2015 – 2022.  The current one was approved by HCD June 3.  The latter is expected to look a lot like the former.

Programs to encourage Housing production include:

2A - Establish minimum densities of 20 (housing) units per acre for any mixed use or residential development along the San Pablo and Solano Avenue corridors.  What does this look like?  The proposed Belmont Village senior housing, with 175 units at Monroe and San Pablo, is on about 3 acres.

2C – Promote new housing which is subject to parking standards defined by state law rather than the requirements set by Albany Measure D.  Measure D is a 1978 Albany citizens’ initiative which required two off-street parking spaces regardless of size of housing unit. 

2H - Encourage the assembly of underutilized land parcels and their consolidation into single parcels in order to create larger, more marketable potential housing sites, especially along the San Pablo Avenue corridor.  Components of this program may include waivers of the lot merger fee for projects which include affordable housing units, expedited processing for lot merger applications, notification of adjacent commercial property owners in the event a site becomes available for sale, and the City’s existing provisions which enable higher densities on larger (e.g., consolidated) lots.

2I – Consider an amnesty program or other initiative to formally register second units which may have been illegally constructed in the past or which are otherwise exempt from zoning requirements, and to ensure that such units meet health and safety standards.  The City's Planning and Zoning Commission will be considering amendments to the Planning and Zoning code to implement an amnesty program, at its June 11 meeting: http://albanyca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?event_id=5e17dcbf-8820-44ed-815b-7f775c56af65 

2K - Create a City of Albany Affordable Housing Fund which becomes a repository for funds that may be used to help support affordable housing development in the City.  The City has created this fund already.

2L – Monitor development activity on the Housing Opportunity Sites to ensure that the City maintains sufficient land to accommodate the housing production of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) during the planning period. In the event a housing site listed as a site for potential housing is redeveloped with a non-residential use or at a lower density, ensure that the City has adequate capacity to meet the RHNA by making the findings required by Government Code Section 65863 and identifying alternative site(s) within the City if needed. 

Most of these programs require staff time for implementation.  Staff availability has been constrained for years.  At some point Albany may need to make difficult choices to implement Housing Element programs. 

The entire list of Housing Production programs and policies may be read at  http://albany2035.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Housing-Element-1-22-14-PZ.pdf, which was the source document for this blog.